Lighting fixture support



March 12, 1963 R. E. KARTH 3,081,393

LIGHTING FIXTURE SUPPORT Filed March 11, 1960 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 814 p AT ,(efl/ wmrommfl March 12, 1963 R. E. KARTH LIGHTING FIXTURE SUPPORT Filed March 11, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 16 i4 I i6 7 44 46 INVENTOR Bap/r A. 41mm BY ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,081,398 LIGHTING FIXTURE SUPPORT Ralph E. Karth, 394 Prospect Ave., Highland Park, Ill. Filed Mar. 11, Hot Ser. No. 14,441 5 Claims. (Cl. 2409) This invention relates to lighting fixtures and particularly to support means for the type of lighting fixtures which are recessed in a grid suspended ceiling.

In the construction and fabrication of ceiling structures which are suspended by means of grid systems, many problems are encountered involving the installation of ing materials such as acoustical tile, fibre panels, etc.,

is a critical tolerance when related to the normal lay-in type of lighting fixture. Adequate and level support for this style fixture is a definite problem since the fixture itself is not manufactured within a sufficient complementary tolerance.

In addition to the normal tolerance problem, there is the attendant problem of complex fixture design, i.e.

a lay-in fixture must be formed so that when seated flush on the flanges of the inverted T-shaped support members the side portions or walls of the fixture are angled or set back sufficiently from the crown of the upwardly extending leg or rib of said T-shaped support so as not to contact .or bind on the crown itself. Economies inherent in the manufacture of a rectangular straight-sided lighting fixture are not available for fixtures having angled or set back side walls.

Another objection to the presently used lay-in type of lighting fixture is the dependency of the fixture size in overall dimensions on the interior module or fixed grid pattern, which results in a so-called modular gain when several fixtures are placed in end-to-end relation.

Thus, when the available fixtures have flange dimensions which are slightly larger than the dimensions of the inl terior module, i.e. the distance between opposed faces of upwardly extending rib portions of the support members, into which the fixture is to be placed, the positioning of said fixture involves a distortion of the adjacent ri-b portions to accommodate I this oversized fixture. While a slight distortion is, in itself, of little consequence, it will accumulate when such fixtures are placed in series, producing a modular gain which results in a severe or critical distortion of the grid pattern.

In addition to the foregoing objections to the usual lay-in type lighting fixture, which can be termed structural objections, there are also functional objections. For example, the placing of a heavy fixture within a confined area upon a narrow flange cannot be considered a simple and easy installation, particularly if the outside dimensions of the fixture are slightly out of phase with the interior support dimensions of the particular grid opening to be used. Also, inasmuch as this type fixture seats directly on the flanges of the inverted T-shaped support members, it is obvious that any and all light diffusing elements used must be contained within the fixture itself, with whatever limitations this involves.

3,981,398 Patented Mar. 12, 1963 Accordingly, in meeting and overcoming the above mentioned difiiculties and objections, it is most desirable and advantageous to provide means for supporting a lighting fixture recessed within a grid suspended ceiling in a manner whereby the lighting fixture is not supportingly engaged by and upon the flange portions of the intersecting inverted T-shaped members of the grid system.

With the foregoing in view, it is the general object of the present invention to provide support means for a lighting fixture recessed in a grid suspended ceiling which support means do not engage with nor are dependent on the horizontal flange portions of the grid system.

Thus, included within the objects of this invention is the support of a lighting fixture within a grid system wherein (A) Adequate support of the fixture is not dependent on nor effected by the relation of fixture dimensions to the grid opening dimensions;

(B) Design of the lighting fixture housing is not dependent on nor the result of accommodating factors related to design of the support members of the grid systern;

(C) All interior flanges of the grid opening underlying a lighting fixture are free to receive light diffusing elements limited by the grid system only and not the lighting fixture;

(D) Installation of the lighting fixture in supported disposition within the grid system is accomplished in a simple and easy manner.

According to the general features of this invention it is contemplated to provide support means which depend from the lighting fixture, thus permitting disposition of t the lighting fixture overlying and spaced from the interlying support member, thereby seating on and engaging the rib portion. The bracket is so formed as to provide a shoulder portion which underlies and engages the edge portion of the fixture wall to which said bracket is secured, thereby providing additional support for the fix ture.

Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will appear or be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a grid system of the type adaptedfor suspended ceiling construction showing lighting fixtures installed therein in accordance with the teachings of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional View, on an enlarged scale, taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, showing lighting fixtures supported in position overlying and spaced from the ceiling construction.

FIG. 3 is a greatly enlarged sectional view (broken) taken substantially on line 33 of FIG. 2, showing in detail the means for supporting a lighting, fixture in the manner of this invention.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view illustrating the relation between the lighting fixture wall, support bracket, and grid support member.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a portion of a ceiling construction similar to that of FIG. 1, but showing a different type lighting fixture and having such fixtures arranged in a difierent manner.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are enlarged sectional views showing detail construction similar to that shown in FIG. 3, but with the construction in distorted operative condition.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly FIG. 1, the reference numeral 19 indicates in general a grid system of the type adapted for suspended ceiling construction, comprising intersecting inverted T-shaped support members 12 suspended by wire elements or struts 14 from overhead beams 16. While not shown, it is common practice in the art to anchon terminal portions of the support members or runners 12 to adjacent wall structures. There are many well known ways for achieving suitable wall anchoring, but such is not a part of the present invention. It is sulficient that such grid systems are fabricated to present a rigid assembly of intersecting support members as illustrated.

It is, of course, the purpose of such a grid system to present a pattern of uniform openings defined by flange portions of the support members, adapted for edge support of ceiling materials. Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 land 4 the inverted T-shaped support members 12 are formed to provide a flange portion 18 and a rib portion 20. The flange portions 18 are disposed horizontally in the same plane and support ceiling material elements, indicated generally by the numeral 22, such as acoustical tile, fibre boards, luminous panels, etc., at the edges thereof. The upwardly extending or vertical rib portions 20, to which the suspending wire struts 14 are attached, terminate. in a crow-n or bead portion 24 which provides added strength and rigidity to the runners. The crown shown has angled sides to present more-or-less a triangular shape, but it is noted that crowns do take a variety of shapes, elg. circular or square, but such shape would not effect the applicability of the subject invention.

-As shown in FIGS. 1-4, a ceiling construction made according to the teachings of the present invention, permits all component ceiling materials to be installed and supported in the same manner, i.e. laid in on the flanges 18 of the runners 12. Thus, glass panels, indicated by numeral 26, which are utilized in grid openings wherein lighting fixtures 28 are disposed, are installed as are the normal ceiling materials such as tile, fibre, wood, etc., indicated by the numeral 36. This, of course, allows interchangeability of a variety of light diffusing members since such members would be formed to a standard interior module, i.e. the dimension between opposed faces of vertical rib portions, rather than being a component of a particular fixture. FIG. 6, to which reference will be made later, illustrates schematically a type of fixture 28' presently used in the trade wherein the light diffusing panel 26' is part of the fixture itself.

Referring now to FIG 2, it can be seen that the lighting fixtures 28 overlie the support members 12 of the grid system and are spaced therefrom. The means for supporting the fixtures in this position above the grid system includes a plurality of brackets 32, secured to the fixture and depending therefrom to engagement with the underlying support members. This mode of fixture support is a most important feature and will now be described in detail.

As shown, the lighting fixture 28 is of simple construction, being nothing more than an inverted box shape structure providing a base or principal panel 34 having wall portions or panels 36 depending therefrom. While such fixture can be made of various materials, it is customary, and in this case prefer-red, that the fixture be made of sheet metal or like material. As best seen in the enlarged views of FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the wall portions 36 of the fixture have formed therein tab elements 38 which are hingedly connected as at 39' to permit displacement of the tabs from the wall. As shown, the tabs are formed in the lower portion of the wall panel and aligned vertically, for a purpose to be described.

The fixture support means or bracket 32 is preferably an elongated metal member having centrally located, aligned apertures 40 at the upper end thereof and a pair of spaced apart leg portions 41-41 formed at the lower end thereof. The apertures 41 are spaced in a manner to conform to the spacing of wall tabs 38, and are sufficient to pass the tabs therethrough. The lower edge 40a of each aperture 49 is adapted to engage and support a corresponding tab 38 adjacent its connection 39 to the wall panel. It is obvious that this securement of the bracket 32 to the wall portion 36 is both simple and adequate. Also, it is obvious that removal of the fixture from the bracket, or vice versa, would be accomplished in an easy and simple manner.

The bracket 32, though integral, is preferably formed of a main member 32:: and a secondary member 3211, said secondary member being secured to the main memher in any suitable manner, such as by welding. Both the main and secondary members have offset terminal portions which in assembled condition provide the spaced apart leg portions 414-1 previously described. These leg portions define a yoke or saddle-like arrangement adapted for receiving the crown 24 of rib portion 20, well illustrated in FIG. 3. In addition, the secondary member 32!) is so formed that in assembled condition the upper edge thereof provides a shoulder 42' which underlies and supports the edge 36a of the fixture wall panel 36.

The bracket as above described is detachably secured to the fixture wall panel and removably secured to the underlying grid support member. Both securements are frictional in nature augmented by the weight of the fixture being supported. This arrangement presents an unusually simple installation feature for a large and heavy lighting fixture.

Referring now to FTG. 6, there is shown in schematic form a lighting fixture representative of types presently used by the trade with suspended ceiling construction utilizing a grid system. This fixture 28 is supported directly on the flange portions of the grid support members 12 in the same manner as ceiling panels 30. This method of lighting fixture support presents several problems, the most important being fixture design to clear the surrounding rib portion crowns and accurate flange dimensions to prevent modular gain.

In the first instance, it is to be noted that the fluorescent type lamps 44, see FIG. 3, are manufactured in standard predetermined lengths, which with the necessary socket elements 46 have an overall dimension which approximates the centerline dimension of the underlying rib portions 20, i.e. in the grid system shown the runners 12 are in one direction disposed on 48 inch centers, and in the other direction are disposed on 24 inch centers. Obviously, the interior module of a grid opening, i.e. the distance between opposing faces of rib portions of parallel runners, is slightly less than the centerline dimensions. A fixture of the type that is supported directly on the flange portions of the runners (see FIG. 6) is necessarily irregularly shaped in order to accommodate the standard fluorescent tube 44, seat properly on the runner flanges, and clear the crowns of the surrounding rib portions. Such complex fixture design results not only in a more expensive fixture but also in a fixture difficult 'to handle and manipulate in installation.

The second mentioned problem, i.e. modular gain, can best be described with reference to FIG. 6. It is perhaps apparent that the module or outside dimension of the fixture flange must be less than the interior module of the grid system, and if proper support of the heavy fixture is to be attained, the fixture module should be only slightly less than the interior module. Unfortunately, sheet metal fabrication of large and bulky fixtures does not lend itself to a suitable tolerance limit, except at the added cost of inspection and correction factors. A fixture module which is slightly larger than the grid interior module obviously can be properly seated only by distortion of the adjacent supporting runners. Inasmuch as the grid system is a rigid integrated structure, such distortion is sometimes difficult to manage, and is always reflected in distortion of the entire grid system.

While it is true that a slight distortion at one grid opening may be accomplished without noticeable effect on the grid pattern, a series of such slightly oversized fixtures can accumulate to produce a modular gain which, in etfect, progressively increases the distortion making the grid pattern noticeably out-of-shape. A distorted grid pattern not only produces a displeasing appearing ceiling but also makes the installation of other fixtures and ceiling materials most difiicult, since the distortions must constantly be compensated for. This is particularly difficult in ceilings of large area, and it is large ceiling areas to which the suspended type ceiling construction is mostly used.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, it is readily apparent that with the present invention, lighting fixture design is no problem. The fixture 28 overlies and is spaced from the grid system, thereby eliminating any need for complex design of the fixture in order to clear the rib portion crowns. Also, since the fixture is not supported on the runner flanges the relation of the fixture module to the interior module of the grid is not critical. To further illustrate, reference is now made to FIGS. 7 and 8.

As shown, FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the teachings of the present invention as applied to an undersized lighting fixture and an oversized lighting fixture, respectively. Thus, in FIG. 7 the lighting fixture 28 has a module less than the interior module of the grid. To accommodate for this the wall panel 36 is flexed outwardly permitting bracket 32 to also extend outwardly to seating engagement on the crown 24 of the underlying adjacent rib portion 20. In FIG. 8 the lighting fixture 28 has a module greater than the interior module of the grid, and wall panel 36 flexes inwardly to permit bracket 32 to extend inwardly for seating engagement on the rib portion crown 24.

It should be apparent that support of a lighting fixture from the vertical rib portion of a runner rather than the horizontal flange portion, has many advantages, both to fixture construction and design, as well as installation of the fixture. The present invention ofiers such advantages. In this novel mode of support the relation of the lighting fixture to the grid system is not one of interdependency of these parts.

While the foregoing specification sets forth the invention in specific terms, it is understood that many variations and modifications may be resorted to without departing from the broad aspects of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having now described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a ceiling construction comprising a plurality of struts fixed to and depending from overhead structure, a system of intersecting support members suspended from said struts, the support members formed to provide horizontally disposed flange portions for supporting ceiling materials, and vertically upstanding rib portions attached to the struts, a lighting fixture disposed overlying the support members and spaced therefrom, a plurality of brackets depending from the fixture, each bracket having an upper end formed to provide locking means and a lower end formed to provide support means, said support means extending to engagement with a rib portion of the underlying support members, and means formed integral of the fixture for detachably engaging said bracket locking means.

2. A ceiling construction as set forth in claim 1 where-- in the bracket support means are characterized as providing a pivotal engagement with a rib portion of the underlying support members.

3 A ceiling construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein the bracket is characterized as having a shoulder portion formed intermediate its upper and lower ends underlying and in engagement with the fixture to which said bracket is detachably engaged.

4. A ceiling construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein the brackets depending from the fixture are in substantial alignment with rib portions of underlying support members.

5. A ceiling construction as set forth in claim 1, wherein the bracket is characterized as having a lower end formed to provide spaced apart leg portions, at least one leg portion extending on each side of the rib portion of an underlying support member and in frictional engagement therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,729,411 Cahill Jan. 3, 1956 2,854,565 Kruger Sept. 30, 1958 2,879,380 Spinetta Mar. 24, 1959 2,887,565 Baran May 19, 1959 2,926,237 Sorenson Feb. 23, 1960 2,976,971 Lundberg Mar. 28, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 813,215 Great Britain May 13, 1959 

1. IN A CEILING CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF STRUTS FIXED TO AND DEPENDING FROM OVERHEAD STRUCTURE, A SYSTEM OF INTERSECTING SUPPORT MEMBERS SUSPENDED FROM SAID STRUTS, THE SUPPORT MEMBERS FORMED TO PROVIDE HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED FLANGE PORTIONS FOR SUPPORTING CEILING MATERIALS, AND VERTICALLY UPSTANDING RIB PORTIONS ATTACHED TO THE STRUTS, A LIGHTING FIXTURE DISPOSED OVERLYING THE SUPPORT MEMBERS AND SPACED THEREFROM, A PLURALITY OF BRACKETS DEPENDING FROM THE FIXTURE, EACH BRACKET HAVING AN UPPER END FORMED TO PROVIDE LOCKING MEANS AND A LOWER END FORMED TO PROVIDE SUPPORT MEANS, SAID SUPPORT MEANS EXTENDING TO ENGAGEMENT WITH A RIB PORTION OF THE UNDERLYING SUPPORT MEMBERS, AND MEANS FORMED INTEGRAL OF THE FIXTURE FOR DETACHABLY ENGAGING SAID BRACKET LOCKING MEANS. 